One development in the container industry which has gained wide acceptance with consumers is the "self-opening" container which can be opened by means of an opening tab secured to one end panel of the container. One form of such a container is the beer and beverage container in which the product is dispensed through an aperture which is opened when the opening tab is lifted to tear away and remove a removable section defined by a score line in the one end panel of the container.
One problem associated with this type of container is readily apparent to those whose occupations require them to continuously open these types of containers, for example, bartenders, waitresses, etc. This is the problem of undue stress and strain which are inflicted on the fingers and associated fingernails of one who for extended periods inserts their finger into the opening tab of a container and must pull the opening tab to tear away the removable section.
Another problem associated with this type of container is that, unless the opening tab is pulled in such a manner as to cause the upward force to be evenly distributed between the two points at the ends of the unfractured score line, there is a possibility that a fracture may develop into the interior of the removable section. This causes only a portion of the removable section to be removed along with the opening tab, while leaving the other portion attached to the end panel of the container. This creates an inconvenience to the one opening the container as it is usually necessary to obtain a tool to remove the remaining portion of the removable section.